Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today I have questions for the Minister of Education, Culture and Employment and it’s with regard to the e-learning pilot project that’s happening in the Beaufort-Delta right now. As I mentioned earlier, to make any travel to the communities is very expensive. What the Beaufort-Delta Education Council is doing is very innovative and unique in getting the education courses out to the communities very promptly and very efficiently.
I want to ask the Minister of Education Culture and Employment, what are the department’s plans for the future of this project when it concludes after the next fiscal year. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Lafferty.
Mahsi, Madam Speaker. I’d like to commend BDEC for the excellent work they’re doing with e-learning. This is an area that we are exploring with other communities as well. As you know, we service 33 communities. With this particular work, we’ve dealt with Alberta Distance Learning at the beginning of the initiative in 2010. Since 2010 we have continued on with the district education authority taking on the initiative on their own.
It’s been very successful to date. There have been approximately 136 students that have taken the program and 110 were successful. That’s just a capture of the success.
We provide funding to work towards this important initiative of $100,000 in 2011-2012, with possible renewal over a two-year period. So we’re at that stage. We feel that we need to continue with this e-learning, along with other communities, to deliver those academic programs that may not be delivered in small communities. So we’ll continue to make those initiatives into the communities. Mahsi.
Madam Speaker, the Minister did mention that there’s a possible renewal and he did mention the success rates of how many students go through this program and actually proceed.
In the small communities we have one teacher that might be instructing three different levels of education: Grade 10 level, Grade 11 and Grade 12 level. The e-learning program would bring students at the advanced learning into programs specific with a teacher in Inuvik or a teacher in Fort McPherson that might be teaching and other communities could come on.
What I’m asking for the Minister today, after this program – he stated just earlier that it is a very successful program – would he commit to ongoing funding for this program that would cut costs down of providing teachers into the communities, sending teachers into the communities, providing housing and all the travel that goes on in the Beaufort-Delta. Would he commit ongoing funding for this e-learning program so that we could get more communities on base with the e-learning program in the Beaufort-Delta region so that students can learn in the comfort of the communities that they grew up in?
Madam Speaker, as I stated, the funding is in the process of renewal up to 2013. Beyond that we need to deal with the Beaufort-Delta Education Council and how we can move forward.
As I stated, I’m very interested in having the continuity of e-learning. Again, we have to service all 33 communities, so we’re currently dealing with the school boards at this point. If we’re going to commit the funds, then those are the discussions that we need to have at that level, then it will be brought back to the standing committee as part of the business planning cycle as we move forward. Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, I guess this kind of goes on. If there’s no commitment right now and they have to reassess, would the Minister commit to possibly providing more teachers, then, or more teacher assistants to the communities that need it? If he’s not looking at an e-learning program and the possibility of continuing this funding, which I didn’t hear a commitment from, would he commit to providing more teachers so that one teacher doesn’t have to be instructing three different levels of grade level programs? We need some commitment so we know what our Beaufort-Delta Education Council can look forward to in the future and start planning today for the future of our youth and our children. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, I didn’t say if I have committed or not on this particular initiative. I stated that we need to deal with the school board and identify the importance of delivering this program into the communities.
What I can state is we are going through various initiatives within the Government of the Northwest Territories. Education renewal is before us. Part of the pillars is professionalism, dealing with the teachers. Also, there is a Small Schools Initiative, the funding that goes to the community, the programming and the delivery. So those are the discussions that will be initiated with the stakeholders. We will be sharing their input and if there’s a need for a continuation and expanding it further with e-learning, then those are initiatives we will bring forward to this House. Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Minister Lafferty. Final supplementary, Mr. Moses.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I understand we’re going through an education renewal process, but this program is new and I don’t feel that there needs to be renewal on this successful program that is already bringing a lot of students in the smaller communities up to par and advanced education where they weren’t two or three years ago. This doesn’t need to be renewed; it needs to be supported.
With that said, earlier in my Member’s statement I did make comments about formula funding and the money that the Beaufort-Delta Education Council does receive. They only receive so many dollars, and they stretch those dollars to ensure that they can provide these services.
Would the Minister commit and look at reassessing this formula funding so that our region, with one of the highest costs of living in all of Canada, can actually provide some of these programs and services to the communities that need it? Can he commit to that? Thank you.
Madam Speaker, the educational renewal will deal with that matter as well. What I can commit here is that the renewal of the e-learning up to two years from 2011-12, so we do have some time this year and next year, what has been laid out here.
This is an area that we will be discussing with the Beaufort-Delta Education Council. We will update the standing committee on the results of our discussion and then the next step. Mahsi, Madam Speaker.
Thank you, Mr. Lafferty. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.
